Means Something More
by ikuzonos
Summary: Togami receives an invitation to Fukawa's birthday. (Togami/Fukawa, Non-Despair AU)


"What is this."

Asahina scowled, and waved the colourful paper in his face again, "Can't you read? It's an _invitation_. To Fukawa-chan's _birthday party._ "

Togami snatched the paper from her, and read it over a few times. It was clearly made by hand, and the printing on it was hardly legible. He looked back up at Asahina, and said, "I understand that. But can't Fukawa invite me to her own birthday party?"

He felt his lip curl as he said the words. Togami had never had a birthday party himself. It simply wasn't something that happened in his family. Birthday parties were for ordinary people.

"Well, it's a surprise party. Fukawa-chan mentioned that she'd never had a birthday party before, so it's my sworn duty to make sure we throw her one!" Asahina replied.

"Do you know if she even _wants_ one?" Togami asked.

Asahina put her hands on her hips, "Just because you hate celebrating your birthday doesn't mean we all do! C'mon, do something nice for her, okay? She cares about you a lot… and I know you care at least a little bit about her. Otherwise, you'd have already told her to leave you alone."

Togami scowled, but he knew she was somewhat right. He looked down at the invitation again, and said, "What day is the party? I can't read your writing."

"March third!" Asahina chirped, "Which… also happens to be Girl's Day. Huh."

Togami sighed and placed the invitation in his pocket, "I'll… be there."

Asahina clasped her hands together in delight, "Awesome! I'll let the others know. Oh, and one more thing!"

"What now?" Togami asked, exasperated.

She stuck out her tongue before responding, "You have to get her a gift. Preferably something nice, but anything you think she'll like is fair game. And before you ask, yes, presents are mandatory!"

Togami pushed up his glasses, "Understood. Now go away."

Asahina rolled her eyes but left the room as he'd instructed.

Once she was gone, Togami produced the invitation again. He still couldn't read a word on it, but he ran his finger across it a few times.

"March third…" he muttered. That was five days from now. He didn't have much time if he truly was going to buy Fukawa a birthday present.

Togami cursed himself. He had a lot of work to do all of a sudden.

* * *

Downtown Kyoto had the best shopping in the city. The best part was, it was only a fifteen minute walk from the school, which meant that Togami didn't have to go near public transit, an idea that he despised. Who wanted to sit in a smelly, moist prism with a bunch of strangers?

Buses, spewing disgusting fumes, rushed by him, tossing his hair. Togami scowled a few times, in between coughs. But even with the delays, Togami still made it into the shopping district without too many issues.

Now the question was, what would he buy for Fukawa?

Togami knew that she liked books and writing, but both of those were givens. Buying her a book would make it appear like he was hardly paying attention to her, and he ran the risk of getting her something she already owned.

He wound through the streets, searching for a prominent storefront. He wanted something that impressed him, but he didn't have any luck for the first hour. Having circled the whole district, he lowered his standards, and went back through it.

Books were out of the question, so he walked by the looming bookshop, despite its beautiful brown brick walls, and impressive glass windows. The first place that he actually went inside was a tall, though not particularly interesting looking, department store.

Inside was nicer. Many people were inside, but nearly all of them dived out of the way the second they spotted him. That was one of the nicer things about being a Togami. He reached a nice dress shop inside in no time, and carefully began perusing the items.

It was a disappointing haul. Any colours that would suit her - whether they complimented her eyes or would simply match - had far too revealing cuts, while the more modest dresses had awful colour combinations. Togami left the store empty-handed and disgruntled.

Still, that didn't deter him. Asahina had insisted that he get something for Fukawa, and Togami was dead set on getting her the perfect present. He was a Togami after all, and Togamis were business-people who knew what to buy people for their birthdays.

Maybe the last bit was a tiny stretch.

Fresh incense was wafting out of a nearby perfume store. While Togami didn't mind his own cologne, something about typical commercial perfumes made him nauseous. He stopped outside, weighing his options. If he bought Fukawa perfume, she might assume that he was insulting her.

...But this was the same girl that lit up whenever she spotted him, who held doors for him without him asking, and offered to carry his books constantly. He could probably give her one of his old shoes, and she'd adore it.

Togami entered the perfume shop.

It was hideous and terribly bright inside. He browsed the cabinets a few times, but he didn't see anything particular good quality.

"Ah, the teeension of a shopper! Yeeeah, nothing like it, baby!"

Togami looked up at the person behind the counter. His blindingly white coat and red scarf made him a giant eyesore. He said, "Do you have any idea who I am?"

The clerk grinned, "Nooot a clue. Now, how can I be of service?"

Togami grit his teeth, and approached the counter, "I'm looking for a… birthday present. For a classmate."

"I seee! Well, what kind of scents does this classmates of yours liiike?" the clerk asked, flashing another annoying smile.

Togami didn't have a clue. Fukawa typically smelled like her pet stinkbug (Kameko? He couldn't remember, and he wasn't entirely sure why he cared) so what would she actually like? He certainly couldn't admit to the clerk that he had no idea what he was doing.

He pushed up his glasses, deciding to bluff the clerk by describing his own preferred fragrance, "Cinnamon and vanilla. Alluring, but dignified at the same time."

The clerk smirked, "Aaaand this is for a classmate? We do have a perfume in stock that would satisfy both criteria."

Togami glowered at him, but the clerk hardly noticed. Instead, he produced a bottle and held it out for him. It was at this point when he felt hesitation in the back of his mind. What if Fukawa hated the scents? What if perfume caused her to _sneeze_ more than it caused him to?

He examined the bottle, looking for an out of the entire conversation. He huffed with pretend disgust, actually quite liking the brand, "Too low quality. I'll be continuing my shopping elsewhere."

Togami ignored the clerk's shouts as he sped out of the store as fast as he could without running.

Once he was far enough from the store, Togami stopped and considered what to do next. It was nearing four in the afternoon, and he was hungry. He'd heard offhand from Naegi that the food basement in the department store was wonderful, but Togami wouldn't be caught dead having a meal in a place like that. He settled for returning to the school, getting something from the kitchen, and seeing what he could find online.

He left the department store, and squinted up at the sky. He'd spent so long inside that the sunlight was too harsh on his eyes. Togami blinked a few times, then set off on his course back to Hope's Peak, when a voice stopped him.

"Y'all are stupid."

Togami turned on his heel to see a man with messy grey hair, and a bizarre pair of yellow sunglasses on his forehead, sitting on the ground in the shade of the department store. He raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

The man muttered, "You heard me, kid. Take some advice from a guy who's been there, don't waste your effort on a gal that was never interested in you."

Togami scoffed. Clearly, this man had no idea how devoted Fukawa was. The sudden thought made him feel odd. The real question was why he was putting so much effort into a person that _he_ wasn't interested in.

...Was he completely uninterested?

He looked at the strange man, then said, "How did you know I was shopping for a girl?"

"It's written all over your face, kid," the man replied, pulling the sunglasses down over his face.

Togami shook his head and moved on.

A bus rolled by as he came close to a stop. Togami tried not to think about the confined space, but he couldn't avoid the noisy conversation that the two people near him were having.

"I can't believe it was late _again_!" came the indignant shout of a girl with black hair in a top knot.

A man wearing a horrifically cheap blue suit replied, "It's late every day."

The girl cried, "Who runs this company anyways?!"

Togami's expression cemented into a scowl. How could anyone stand to ride that thing?

* * *

Back safely in his dorm, Togami scrolled mindlessly through Amazon. He didn't like the website's layout very much, but it was his best option currently.

His eyes burned. He had taken too much time waiting to go shopping, and now he was running out of time. Even if he paid the extra 1307 yen to speed up the shipping - which he had - there was no way that the lovely fountain pen and leather bound notebook that he had found would arrive any earlier than the night before her birthday.

When the gifts did arrive, what could he even do with them? Fukawa surely had enough notebooks to fill a dishwasher. Part of him wanted to personalize the notebook with a poem, but he was hardly a poet. Back at home, he had a shoebox filled with attempts at poetry and the beginning of a never to be finished play that had never received a title.

Togami lay his head down on the desk, and clicked 'ship.' He was hopeless.

* * *

Five-thirty PM. Togami was reluctantly standing in the gym, having just passed his perfectly wrapped present to an overjoyed Asahina. He wasn't happy with the gift he had picked out, but he had run out of time.

So much for being a business-person.

The lights went off shortly after Naegi left to retrieve Fukawa from her room. Togami hoped the lights would come back on as she came in, lest she be terrified out of her mind.

The doors opened again about five minutes later, and all at once, people began to scream.

"SURPRISE! HA-"

"It's just me!"

Leon flicked the lights back on, "Boo! Where's the birthday girl?"

Naegi replied, "She won't leave her room. I asked her if she would come with me, but she told me to go away."

Asahina huffed, "We have to get her here somehow! If she won't listen to Naegi, then we'll get Fukawa-chan here another way!"

Mukuro raised an eyebrow, "Or maybe she just really doesn't want to come. We can't force her to be here if she doesn't want to."

Junko laughed, "That's out of the question and you know it, sis! All we gotta do is send someone that Fukawa-san _wants_ to talk to!"

"I nominate Togami!" Leon shouted.

Togami sent a glare to both the model and the baseball player, before resigning himself and leaving the gym.

It was quick journey from the gymnasium to Fukawa's room, but it felt like hours had passed. He took a moment to compose himself, then knocked on the door.

It opened just a crack. Togami could just barely see Fukawa's face peeking out. When she realized it was him standing there, her eyes widened and she moved the door enough so her face stuck out.

"B-Byakuya-sama?" she whispered.

Togami didn't bother wasting any time, "Come with me. We're going to the gymnasium."

Fukawa hesitated for a long moment, then said, "O-Okay. I'm coming." She slipped out of her room, locking it behind her, and followed Togami as he set out towards the gym. She kept up well, despite Togami's quick pace and height advantage.

"Nearly there now," he uttered to himself as they turned the corner to face the gym. Upon hearing that, Fukawa stopped in place. Togami turned around, "What is it?"

Fukawa whispered, "T-This is for my birthday, i-isn't it?"

Togami pushed his glasses up, "Yes," he replied, seeing no need to lie to her.

Fukawa hissed, "I n-never should have told th-that _idiot_ swimmer w-when it was!"

Togami took a few steps towards her, "I take it that this is not a day of enjoyment for you."

"Not at all," Fukawa said, "I h-hate my birthday. I may be a m-masochist, but this is nothing like-"

Togami held up a hand, "Don't continue that sentence."

Quietly, Fukawa said, "I don't l-like being the centre of a-attention. Unless it's Byakuya-sama's, b-but otherwise it's… s-scary."

Togami said, "You don't have to go. If you want, I can tell them that you refused to leave your room."

Fukawa raised her head, "Y-You would do that f-for me?"

"Yes," Togami replied testily, "I wouldn't have offered otherwise. Do you want to go or not?"

Fukawa asked, "H-How many of them are in o-on it?"

"The entire class."

She shuddered, "T-They all probably j-just wanted to h-humiliate me, then."

Togami huffed, "Considering Asahina barged into my room and demanded that I both come to this party and get you a gift, I have my doubts that _all_ of them want to humiliate you."

Fukawa took a deep breath, seemingly weighing her options. As Togami watched her, it suddenly hit him, hard and fast. He knew what the perfect present for Fukawa was, and he mentally kicked himself for not realizing this sooner. This however, was not the time or the place to give it.

"Be warned," he added quickly, "If you do choose to go, they will yell when you walk in. You can still back out of it."

Fukawa gulped, "I'll… I'll g-go. But only because of you, Byakuya-sama."

Togami's heart lurched in his chest.

"Very well," he said, "Come along."

Fukawa clung to his side as if she were his shadow, as they walked down the hallway that led to the gym. Once Togami opened the doors, the lights mercifully flickered on.

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

She uncovered her ears as soon as they were done yelling, and if Togami wasn't mistaken, a small smile slipped onto her face as she watched the other fourteen students rush out of hiding.

* * *

He paced back and forth in front of her room a few times.

More or less, the party had been a success. Fukawa had begrudgingly taken part in the activities that the others had planned, and opened all the presents. She didn't touch her cake there, though he did notice her sneaking out the slice when she left the gym, likely not wanting the others to see her eat.

Togami had yet to deliver his perfect present. It wasn't like him to be nervous - he was hardly a giddy school girl - but he couldn't stop his heart from pounding. What a strange girl Fukawa was, so that she was able to do this to him.

Finally, he knocked on her door and held his breath.

Fukawa's door opened slowly, then a lot faster as soon as she spied him. She asked softly, "W-What is it, Byakuya-sama?"

Togami said, "I have a gift for you."

She blinked, "I l-loved what you g-got me."

He gave a small smile, clarifying, "No, this is the _perfect_ present."

Fukawa blushed, "Well, if Byakuya-sama g-got it for me, then it must be."

Togami leaned down and kissed her. Fukawa went stiff, and for one, horrifying second, he thought she wouldn't reciprocate. Then, she kissed back harder, inciting a rush of relief stronger than a waterfall. Fukawa reeked of garlic and tasted like dollar store frosting, but he didn't care in the slightest.

Perfect gifts don't come from a store. They happen to mean just a little bit more.


End file.
